West African Gold–Salt Trade Routes

Timeline

1. c. 800–1100West African Sahel and northern Sahara edge · SahelBerber and West African merchants crossed the Sahara by camel caravan, forming regular trade routes linking gold mines of the Volta–Senegal river basins with North African salt fields and copper markets, along with oasis relay stations and guide systems en route.
2. c. 1250–1350Timbuktu and Gao · MaliThe Mali Empire controlled hubs like Timbuktu and Gao, collecting customs duties and providing security, bringing gold–salt trade to its peak; Mansa Musa's pilgrimage (1324) further showcased West African gold reserves to the Mediterranean world.
3. 1381–1390Middle Niger trade route hubs · MaliAfter Mansa Musa, Mali's central authority weakened and competition among local powers and successors intensified, but camel caravans still regularly carried gold, slaves, and kola nuts north, returning with salt, cloth, and horses; nodes like Gao continued to serve as transshipment and tax-collection points.
4. c. 1400–1590Gao · MaliThe Songhai Empire rebuilt trade route management centered on Gao, continuing the gold–salt exchange model; only after the Moroccan invasion (1591) did the traditional trans-Saharan trade system suffer a severe blow.